Has any artist done all new songs on MTV Unplugged?

Submitted by bloodraged189 t3_zzu45k in Music

I was listening to Alice in Chains' "Killer Is Me", an MTV Unplugged original, and it got me thinking. Many artists released their Unplugged performances as albums, with many using relatively few of their popular tracks in favor of doing a lot of deep cuts and covers. Considering that they seemed to have great freedom in their setlist/tracklist, and considering that Unplugged albums were often considered to be as much a part of the artists' discographies as their studio LPs, did any artists utilize this to make their Unplugged album all new songs?

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Jackattack736 t1_j2dndpa wrote

I can do you better than just 1 new song, Lauryn Hill's Unplugged is entirely new songs. She's a complicated artist, especially when it comes to live performances, and it didn't lead to any hits but it's certainly unique.

Then there's also artists doing covers that wouldn't be released on any studio album, like Nirvana covering David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World or Florence + The Machine covering Johnny Cash's Jackson (and bringing up Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age to duet for that song)

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bloodraged189 OP t1_j2dobv8 wrote

I was just listening to Miseducation yesterday, I don't know how I've never heard of this. Thanks! Exactly what I was trying to describe.

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Jackattack736 t1_j2dpakn wrote

Be warned, it's nothing like Misseducation and is not considered good.

Also, doing some extra digging Pearl Jam played State of Love and Trust on their unplugged performance a few months before the studio version was released as a single for a movie soundtrack

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bloodraged189 OP t1_j2dr0ek wrote

Thanks for the warning, I'll go in with an open mind!

Yeah, that's my favorite version of State of Love and Trust. I appreciate how different they made the songs for that performance, especially Porch.

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InsomniaTwoSeven t1_j2dttq1 wrote

On their unplugged, twenty one pilots recreated a couple of their songs on the spot using looping devices and such, and made entirely new versions of them. Not a ‘classic’ unplugged but I guess it counts as new songs?

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hbxli t1_j2e71ct wrote

looping devices

unplugged

nope

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InsomniaTwoSeven t1_j2e7b2q wrote

They made a lil speech beforehand about it, saying MTV unplugged had become less about being ‘unplugged’ and more about seeing the bands in a different light.

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Jwishh t1_j2ecom1 wrote

Lol yeah it’s not unplugged but it’s still a fantastic and unique performance that forces them to put their musicianship in the foreground

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[deleted] t1_j2eb1ur wrote

[deleted]

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InsomniaTwoSeven t1_j2efyze wrote

Fair enough. Plus, a couple of the songs they played were just not that great, although a couple of them did stand out.

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throwawayawayayayay t1_j2eh6ev wrote

Nirvana Unplugged was primarily covers and songs that weren’t hits. I remember hearing the producers saying they were expecting a standard hits-based set list and had they known what was going to happen, they would have recorded it differently.

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